Tag Archives: real estate

There are not many investments that offer the tax advantages that real estate provides. Now, I’m no hater of Wall Street. I feel that diversity is important to any portfolio; but when it comes to taxes, real estate has many other investment vehicles beat.

The VA home loan, which may be the most auspicious benefit available to veterans, is putting vets into homes at a far greater rate than it was just one decade ago. According to Bloomberg news, VA loans accounted for eight percent of all first quarter mortgages this year, an increase from two percent in 2004.

But what is a person to do if their renovation budget is limited, if they do not have the means to transform that one room that needs sprucing up? There are quick tips and tricks that you can fall back to that will not be too expensive and that will definitely increase the value of the house and make it more attractive to potential buyers.

People sell their homes for a variety of reasons. Some do it because they have to move to another town, city, or country while others do it to finance the long-awaited purchase of their dream house. There are empty nesters knocking about in a too-big house and wishing to move to a smaller home while…

There are no dumb questions, just dumb buyers. And, the dumb buyers are, coincidentally, the ones who never ask any questions. With that said, some questions are more valuable than others when it comes to buying a home. Before you make any serious commitments, and even before you talk with an agent, you should have…

(MCT)—Question: My husband and I are struggling to make ends meet. We’re retired and owe a lot more on our home than it is worth. The payments are too high for our fixed income, and we’re trying to find the best way to handle this. As far as we can tell, we wouldn’t be able…

While real estate used to be a great investment for the average American, that is less and less likely, as the market morphs, industry experts said. Some say, looking at data for real estate markets in U.S. metropolitan areas, that the current level of price growth is unsustainable. Home prices have risen 14 percent in…

Today’s “Ask the Expert” column features Jay Gregg, Director of Marketing for Pillar To Post. Q: What are the most important issues homeowners should address—and correct—in order to successfully weather the winter in an older home? A: Weathering the cold and dark winter months is a challenge for anyone, but can be especially difficult if…

Meet the new Joneses. They believe their house is the best one on the block. They seek multiple homes to fit their lifestyle needs and have an affinity for high-tech features. Despite the emergence of new luxury niches, such as the Millennial tech millionaires, the key is to look at the next generation of luxury…

By Beth Pinsker – When the housing bubble burst, a damage-control mentality replaced decades of conventional real estate wisdom. With the housing market now rebounding, there is still uncertainty. The old rules — such as getting a fixed-rate mortgage and refinancing when you can — don’t apply. But the post-bust rules don’t work either. “There’s a…

By Aaron Crowe – One of the fun parts of searching for a home to buy is visualizing living in it. Will your furniture fit? Is the kitchen big enough for all of your kids? Imagining your belongings and your family living in the home can make the buying decision easier. When checking out a house,…

Much like the rest of the real estate industry, new home construction is on the rise! Are you a real estate agent who sells or even specializes in new builds? Below is a list of the top 10 reasons for home buyers to buy a brand new house. Feel free to use this information during…

People often become property speculators by default, having been left a house in a legacy and deciding to rent it out rather than sell it. Another way of starting small tends to happen if they have to move for work and rent the family home whilst looking for somewhere new to live. As long as…

There are only a few times in your life that you will ever be completely petrified and very happy at the same time. One of those times is when you take the plunge and eventually buy your first home. You can’t beat the feeling of turning the key after you have just splashed out on…

(MCT)—QUESTION: I recently learned that a company mistakenly filed a lien against our home. It’s clear that the company did not even check for accuracy. I contacted the firm, and it released the lien, but without written explanation. My wife and I are concerned that this may cause problems later and hurt our credit scores.…

Kelly and Brandon Michon used plenty of their own elbow grease to clear out old carpets and remove layers of plaster, but got professional help for technical work like redesigning the kitchen, right. Katherine Marks for The New York Times After finding a two-bedroom one-bath fixer-upper in the financial district last fall, Kelly and Brandon…

(MCT)—QUESTION: We bought our home in 2005 with a no-down-payment loan that required private mortgage insurance. Since then, we have worked hard to make additional principal payments and have reduced our balance to about 70 percent of the current value. The loan papers say that we can have the PMI eliminated when the loan balance…

Selling your home is an important milestone, freeing up the capital for you to move on to a new location. Whether you are upgrading, downsizing, or just moving to a new location, selling your home is an important yet intricate legal process, and there are plenty of ways in which it can go wrong.…

(MCT)—Real estate officials are bracing for new federal mortgage rules intended to press lenders to ensure that prospective borrowers are able to repay home loans. Starting Jan. 10, lenders will be required to scrutinize eight types of financial information about a borrower, including income and debts. The so-called ability-to-repay and qualified-mortgage requirements stem from the…

Maybe you hope for a cozy cottage in the country, while your significant other wants a condo in the city. Or maybe you simply have a disagreement on how much of a mortgage payment is too much. No matter the reason for your home-related arguments, you need to work together with your partner in order…

(MCT)—QUESTION: Several years ago, my building changed the rules and stopped allowing pets. Because I had my dog back then, I was grandfathered in and allowed to keep it. After it died, I got a new puppy to help me deal with my grief. Once the association found out, I started receiving violations and fines.…

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